I
originally did a Fall Themes issue five years ago - it's time to update
the links! Below are several popular themes often used in the classroom
throughout the Autumn of the school year. Be sure to share them with
colleagues and spread the wealth!

My Digital Dozen
Newsletter has completed it's first month of publication, presenting
issues on JAVA Math applications, ADHD, best online projects and blogging.
This weekend's edition is on the thirteen colonies. Subscriber Linda
Hill wrote to me this week to say:

"The
Digital Dozen is great! I swear each issue is so timely."

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Having
moved back to my native New England, I revel in the cool Fall days
and crisp Fall nights. The autumnal foliage is beautiful as the hillsides
begin to sparkle in sunlit crimsons and golds. Fall is a celebration
of the harvests in life and of the preparation for the winters yet
to come. Wherever you may be, I wish for you a wonderful Fall season.
Happy Fall, everyone!

Days
of the Deadhttp://www.holidays.net/halloween/muertos.htmGreat presentation
of the Mexican holiday which is celebrated every Autumn as monarch
butterflies return from northern North America; great cultural comparisons
and contrasts with Halloween.

Halloween
Activities from NASAhttp://kids.msfc.nasa.gov/events/Halloween.aspStories,
games, greeting cards and recipes from NASA for Kids. Includes a Make
a Black Hole Game, a land on Mars simulation and EL Nino Pudding.
Uses JAVA to make the games interactive.

Halloween
Safety Gamehttp://www.halloweenmagazine.com/play.htmlThe
West Michigan White Caps Baseball Team offers this collection of baseball
history and terminology broken down by Math, Science, History and
English. Foreign Language is said to be in the works. Lots of good
meat for a baseball unit.

Little
Shop of Patent and Trademark Horrors http://www.uspto.gov/go/kids/halloween.htm The U.S. Office of Patent and Trademarks presents this
collection of eerie inventions which have been awarded patents. See
the electrified tablecloth, the air-powered web slasher, a
cranial prosthesis and more!

Harvest

Cyber
Space Farmhttp://www.cyberspaceag.com/
Virtual experience takes you and your students to a Kansas farm and
learn about the life of a farm family, the crops and creatures they
tend, and and kids' playground to extend learning.

How
We Make Maple Syruphttp://www.tppm.com/maple_syrup/how.htmlRansom Farm in Connecticut offers this nice step-by-step guide
on how to tap the trees, boil the maple sap and then finally bottle
the delectable nectar; a New England tradition to share with your
students.

The
Inside Scoop on Farmshttp://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312380/This 2003 ThinkQuest entry covers different kinds of farms and
the work and equipment used on each of them. The Farm Fun link includes
mazes, puzzles and games. The glossary and citations add to the site's
content.

Virtual
Farm Househttp://www.pbs.org/ktca/farmhouses/vf.html
This Flash-based tour of a classic L-farmhouse, so-named because the
two rectangles of the original house and kitchen addition form an
L shape. Dig further into the site to learn more about homes on the
prairie.

Wheat
Mania! http://www.wheatmania.com/
Wonderful site celebrating life on the farms of Kansas; discusses
everything from planting to harvest with special emphases on wheat
and prairie skyscrapers - very upbeat and chocked full of information.

Leaves

Autumn
Leaf Scrapbookhttp://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/temp/leaves/
Nice look at deciduous trees, their colors and how to identify them
as they fall to the ground this time of year; ideal for students making
a leaf collection by species and color.

Tree
Identification http://maple.dnr.cornell.edu/kids/tree_index.asp
The Cornell Sugar Maple Research and Extension Program presents this
study of sugar maple, silver maple, red maple, black maple and boxelder,
including their bark, leaves, twigs and fruit.

Why
Do Fall Leaves Change Color?http://slisweb.lis.wisc.edu/~heather/fall.html
Users can search by any date in a calendar year or the entire site
by keyword. If you're studying World War II for example, you can bring
up significant events that occurred within the context of baseball.

Pumpkins

How
to Grow Great Atlantic Pumpkinshttp://www.backyardgardener.com/secert.html
Turns out Linus was on the right track - you can have the Great Pumpkin
in your patch this Halloween (or more likely, next Halloween), and
this page gives you everything you need to proceed.

The
Pumpkin Patchhttp://www.eskimo.com/~mcalpin/pump.html
Ignore the error message and delve into a great collection of pumpkin
facts, trivia and activities! Imagine the possibilities using Pumpkin
World Records and How Big Is It? in your Fall Math classes!

Pumpkin
Patch Poetryhttp://www.kids-learn.org/pumpkins/
Susan Silverman's collection of children's poetry on the grand gourd
from school's across North America; excellent starting point to get
students to respond and create their own verse.

Swan
Pumpkin Farmhttp://www.thepumpkinfarm.com/index.html
Swan's Pumpkin Farm in Racine, Wisconsin offers this online tour of
their facility, along with learning activities and games to help supplement
your pumpkin study.

Investigating
the First Thanksgivinghttp://www.plimoth.org/OLC/index_js2.html
From the official web presence of historic Plimouth Plantation in
Massachusetts; helps clarify what occurred at the first Thanksgiving
so students can separate historical fact from the traditions we have
all come to know and love.

Pocahontas,
John Rolfe, Jamestown and Virginiahttp://members.tripod.com/~AlanCheshire/index-15.html
Extensive collection of online resources looking at the colonists
and Powhatans as they first learned to live with one another during
the difficult history of Jamestown, Virginia; serious materials here
for historical study.

Teaching
About Thanksgivinghttp://www.night.net/thanksgiving/lesson-plan.html
Comprehensive lesson plans, for studying Thanksgiving at the elementary
level, including study/discussion questions, enrichment activities,
tips on how to avoid stereotypes, recipes, and the story of the corn
husk doll.

Thanksgiving
on the Nethttp://www.holidays.net/thanksgiving/
All kinds of history, background, activities, music and more to help
you further develop your observance and celebration of this most American
of holidays; check out the virtual turkey!

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